The Australian-based mining company European Metals Holdings is continuing
with preparations for lithium mining in the Czech Republic, despite the
fact that the Czech government does not consider the memorandum on the
extraction and processing of lithium, signed with EMH last year, legally
binding and wants a Czech state-run company to mine and process the
deposits. The company Geomet, which is part of EMH, has begun preparations
for a series of drills near Cínovec in order to ascertain the economic
viability of the project.

Photo: Kanijoman via Foter.com / CC BY
The controversial issue of lithium mining in the Czech Republic is back in
the headlines, after the Australian-based mining company European Metals
Holdings said it had received permission from the Czech authorities to
conduct 13 test drills at the site of the lithium deposits near Cínovec,
in the north of the country. The firm Geomet, which has started work on the
site in preparation of drilling said the aim was to produce a geological
map of the resources which would help ascertain the economic viability of
the project.

Although the Babiš government declared the memorandum signed with EMH nil
and void, the company claims it is not the memorandum which guarantees its
rights, but the prospecting license for natural resources held by the firm
Geomet, which is part of EMH.

The memorandum signed with EMH by the former Social Democrat trade minister
Jiří Havlíček ahead of last October’s general elections caused an
uproar in the lower house where opposition deputies and even ANO members of
the then-coalition government accused the Social Democrats of selling out
the country’s national interests by handing the mining rights to one of
the largest lithium deposits in Europe to a foreign company.

Since winning the elections, Prime Minister Babiš has pushed for lithium
mining in the country to be in the hands of a state-run company – ideally
the state enterprise Diamo.
He said he planned to meet with Industry Minister Marta Nováková and
Environment Minister Richard Brabec to discuss the possibilities and called
on the company Diamo to be more active and come up with a project which
would keep lithium mining in Czech hands. In response to developments this
week, the prime minister said that the question of who would be given the
right to mine and process the country’s reserves of lithium was still
open.